Easter Prep

Easter is just around the corner. We are beginning to prep our space and think up some fun settings for our brunch.  I often take a look to the past to remind myself what we have already done and hope for a little inspiration. 

Besos,

Mel

KICKSTARTER: FASHION GIVES BACK

We are pleased to share with you my dear friend Marissa Perry's creative company Dsenyo. This is the type of work we all dream of.  She has created a place for women to be employed, support communities in Africa, and much more…….

If your inspired by DSENYO support them via KICKSTARTER

Style with Purpose: Snare Wire Jewelry

This is my friend's social enterprise that works with fair trade artisans and anti-poaching nonprofits in Zambia, Africa.

Dsenyo is a fair trade and ethical fashion company that is working to launch a new line of Snare Wire Jewelry (http://kck.st/1ACa95R).  It all started when they discovered a group of artisans in Zambia doing something ingenious!  Poaching is at an all time high in Africa, including in the South Luangwa Valley of Zambia where these women live.  Local non-profits are doing some incredible anti-poaching work to help arrest poachers, rehabilitate injured animals and disassemble deadly snare wire traps before animals are caught in them.  When the traps are disassembled, artisans are up-cycling the wire into beautiful, fair trade jewelry.  

Dsenyo has teamed up with these artisans and the anti-poaching nonprofits in Zambia.  They are crowd funding a campaign to launch the new Snare Wire TWIST jewelry collection which will help raise funds for continued anti-poaching efforts and create much needed jobs for women and artisans in the community who hand-craft the jewelry.

Watch the video here: http://kck.st/1ACa95R

Dsenyo takes their commitment to social impact seriously and conducts a study with their partner artisans ever year.  You can see that their work is really making a lasting difference in the lives of these women and their families.

What is snare wire?  It's random pieces of wire that is collected and stollen by poachers who turn it into animal traps.  These snare wire traps are indiscriminate so everything from lion, baby elephants, zebra, giraffe and more get caught in them.  On top of the fair trade wages paid to artisans, Dsenyo donates $5 from the sale of each piece of jewelry to non-profits who work to combat the poaching crisis.

Here's an amazing safari experience they are offering as part of the fund-raising efforts 

http://kck.st/1ACa95R

Brooklyn Makeover

A couple of months ago, Ginger and I began a little project in Brooklyn with our dear friend Lonnie.  The project was a complete pleasure.  He has so many wonderful pieces and great sense of style.  G and I just tweaked the space a bit, each of us working to our strengths.  I am so happy the way the space turned out, and we didn't spend more then 100 dollars for the entire re-do. 

We had so much fun!!!

Mel

New House Tour

Hi friends!  Thanks for waiting so patiently as I've been taking some time off and enjoying expecting the arrival of our little girl.  After this much anticipation, it's hard to believe she'll actually be here next month!  We've been preparing for her arrival, but now that we have a new house, I won't be going overboard decorating a nursery in our current home. 

Speaking of the new house... demolition has officially begun!  Our contractor has gotten lots accomplished over the past couple of weeks, and we've already filled a huge dumpster to the brim.

So before the renovation continues, I thought it's time to take you all on a tour!  These are the true before photos, which will give you an idea of what we're working with here.  We love this house, and every time I'm over there I get more excited about its potential.

Here you can see the main, formal living room in the front of the house, which opens up to the dining room in the background.  These spaces won't be getting major overhauls-- just checking the fireplaces (praying they work!!) and a fresh coat of paint.

This library had suffered some water damage from a leaky shower base on the second floor, so its ceiling has come down along with the built ins, which we'll replace.  Instead of the door pictured here, we'll open up most of that whole wall, connecting this room to the family room behind it.

And here's the family room or den, which will be our main hangout and TV space, so we'll live in here.  It used to be a first floor master bedroom, which would be lovely, but we would rather utilize it for more living space and connect it to the rest of the house for better flow.  

You know, for parties. :)

This little room was the former owner's "card room," and I like to imagine her in here playing bridge with her friends.  Since it's connected to a full bathroom and large closet all in its own little wing of the house, we'll be using this as a guest room for visitors.  It's a small bedroom, but I love how the vaulted ceiling makes the space feel airy and open.

Here's the guest bath and closet... These photos really don't do justice to how bright the blue painted trim and wallpaper are in person.  It's tropical in there!  This will all get a fresh coat of paint, and the wallpaper in the whole house will be steamed off.

This house has a lot of bathrooms, and this one was an extra full bath on the first floor that we really didn't need.  Once we realized that the water damage had compromised this room, as well, we decided to go ahead and gut it, dividing the space into a powder room off of the main hallway and a coat closet for the back hall.  I'm really glad we ended up making the call to do it now, since we'll be using the back door on a daily basis, and now we'll have a decent amount of storage for hats, coats, etc.

We decided to rework the kitchen completely, ripping out the cabinets, counters, and even the flooring.  Sadly, none of it was reusable, so we're starting with a totally blank slate in there-- which is exhilarating, but also more intimidating than reworking an existing layout.  There are so many choices for kitchen design, and a huge range of price points out there depending on your cabinets, counter materials, appliances...  We have lots of decisions to make in the next few weeks!  

Upstairs currently there are two bedrooms and a shared hall bath, and we'll be adding to that mix by building up above the family room to create a master bedroom, bathroom and walk in closet.  The existing rooms will remain largely untouched, except for the old wallpaper coming down and new paint everywhere.

How fun is this bathroom?  I love its baby-blue datedness and had hoped to keep it as is for a while, but this shower was the leaky culprit for the downstairs damage, and there was no way to rip out and replace it without compromising the blue and white floor tile, which was my favorite part anyway.  So this will get a pretty major overhaul, as well, including installing a bathtub for bathing kiddos:)

As you can see, this is a LOT of work to accomplish before this place will be habitable again.  We're staying put for now, and we'll bring the baby home to our current house for a month or two before the big move.  Stay tuned for more photos and updates on the process!

xo

Liza

CAC: SHADOW PUPPETS

Today we wrapped up our shoot for CAC.  Our team was inspired by the concept of creating shadow puppets in retelling the story of Creation. Over the last month our entire team has brought their A game and individual talents.  I am pinching myself with gratitude. It is not everyday you work with a team you trust and that inspire one another. The entire process of CAC 2015 has already been amazing. 

Here are a few behind the scenes from today…..

If your in the NYC area sign up for our FREE camp. You won't want to miss it. 

Besos,

M

Creative Arts Camp

With snowy days ahead, all I can think of is the warmth of summer. I have gone head first in Creative Arts Camp prep, knowing summer is just a few months ahead will get us through these snowy days. 

Here are a few inspiring images to get the imagination going…

It is going to be GOOD!